New Mexico’s aid-in-dying law not like Canada’s

Editor’s note: This letter appeared in part in the Monday Journal but was partially obscured by an advertisement. Here it is in its entirety:

RE: “WHEN is legalized suicide acceptable, and when is it not?” (Journal) March 27

As a member of the coalition that ran the grassroots campaign to pass the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act that (was signed into law Thursday by) N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, I must correct the record about this compassionate legislation.

There is no comparison between Canada’s euthanasia law and U.S. medical aid-in-dying laws like New Mexico’s legislation that strictly limit this option to mentally capable, terminally ill adults, who must self-ingest the medication.

In fact, since Oregon became the first state to pass a medical aid-indying law in 1994, every one of the other nine jurisdictions that have passed these laws in the last 27 years has adopted these same core eligibility and safety requirements. In contrast, Canada already has revised its 2016 euthanasia law after only five years. This disparity parallels the disparity between our two countries’ culture and health care systems.

It is wrong to compare people who are not terminally ill but want to die prematurely, with terminally ill adults who would love to live but are going to die no matter what and just want the option of medical aid in dying to avoid needless end-of-life suffering in their last days.

The champions of New Mexico’s legislation, Rep. Debbie Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerillos, understood firsthand how important this was to New Mexicans.

We have lost many terminally ill New Mexicans like state judge Elizabeth Whitefield, business owner Glenn Buckland, and former UNM Hospital CEO Bill Johnson who selflessly worked over the last few years to help pass the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act. Thanks to their courage and the bill sponsors’ steadfast leadership, terminally ill New Mexicans soon will have the option to die peacefully without unnecessary suffering.